BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Saints hung close in the first half, with four score ties and six lead changes, but then Western Washington hit the ground running to take the win on their home court Thursday night.

Saint Martin's came out in the first half with fire, going neck and neck with the Vikings. However, from what seemed to be a close game quickly ended seconds out of the halftime break. Alex Schumacher was one of three Saints scoring in double-digits with 18 points, followed by CJ Jennings and Logan Rooney with 16 and 13, respectively.

Both teams went basket for basket in the first five minutes, tying two different times at 8-8 and 10-10. It wasn't until CJ Jennings scored his first 3- pointer of the game that the Saints gained their first lead. This was quickly ended by the Vikings seconds later, who tied up the score yet again at 15-15. Saint Martin's wouldn't lead again until a 7-0 run to put them up 6-24.

Both teams became hot beyond the arc, which switched the lead two more times. Jennings put up a three to take the lead at the one-minute mark, but Western Washington capped off the half with back-to-back 3-pointers, making the score 33-29 at the break.  

The Vikings opened up the half with six consecutive points, to take a quick 10-point lead. That lead held for the remaining 19 minutes of the game as the Saints' offense went cold.

While the Saints could never get over the hump, the Saints remained within reach for the rest of the half, trailing around ten points for the next ten minutes. That changed when Western Washington stretched their lead to as many as 18 with 4:28 left on the clock. SMU managed to cut this deficit down to 10 points with a late offensive surge; however, this was not enough to overcome the Vikings.

Schumacher came off the bench with 18 points, going 7-12 in the field goal range. Jennings finished with six rebounds, four assists, and one steal along with his 16 points while Rooney added four points and two steals. Demonte Malloy and Marky Adams combined for 10 points and 14 boards.

On the night, the Saints as team shot 23-for-59 (39 percent) from the field, 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) beyond the arc, and 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) at the line. SMU grabbed 36 rebounds, collected eight assists on 13 turnovers, along with two blocks and eight steals.

The Saints finish their last away GNAC game against Simon Fraser February 22 with tip-off scheduled at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at smusaints.com.